Science Programs-on-Wheels

Want to bring the excitement of Cincinnati Museum Center directly to your location? Our Programs-on-Wheels bring educational and entertaining lessons in a wide variety of topics to you!

Click here to see how our programs align with the Ohio Revised Academic Science and Social Studies Standards as well as the Next Generation Science Standards and National Social Studies Academic Standards.

Policies

Designed for grades 1 through 8.

Available Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

60 minutes

Maximum 30 students per program.

Cancelling your scheduled activities or whole reservation within 2 business days of the Program-on-Wheel will incur a cancellation fee of $50.

Failure to cancel your reservation prior to our arrival is subject to a charge of 100% of the total reservation.

Itinerary changes made within 2 business days or the day of the visit will incur a processing fee of $50.

Book as far in advance as possible. Reservations for programs close two weeks out.

Payment by credit card, check or purchase order is required 2 weeks before the program. Programs are subject to reschedule if payment has not been received by that time.

All programs require 15-45 minutes of set-up and take-down.

Consecutive programs booked on the same day should be scheduled with at leat 15 minutes between programs.

Confirmation materials are emailed at the time of reservation.

Programs

ABC: Arches, Bridges, and ConstructionGrades 5–8Work in teams to build arches, a suspension bridge and a truss bridge you can actually crawl across. Learn what makes bridges work - anchors, beams and compression, to name a few. Explore the concepts of live load, dead load, and environmental stress.

Animal Identification: The Science of SkullsGrades 4-8Solve scientific mysteries! Use clues such as skull size, shape, type and number of teeth and eye placement to identify a variety of Ohio mammals using their skulls and a dichotomous key. The activities within this program provide a great introduction to the science of classification. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Awesome Animal AdaptationsGrades 1–8Explore animal habitats and adaptations. Meet and touch live animals that may include a bat, snake, box turtle, tarantula, hedgehog and/or hissing cockroaches. Learn about and handle unique items sufrom our collections such as baleen, pronghorn antelope fur and armadillo armor. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Bats Grades 1–8Walk like a bat! Fly like a bat! Meet a native bat and explore echolocation to understand how it works and hear what it sounds like. Learn about these truly amazing yet misunderstood animals through a slide presentation, game, artifacts and more. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Chemistry in Your HandsGrades 3-7Heat it up and cool it down! See and feel the evidence of physical versus chemical change. Watch your experiments change color as you create acids and bases. Learn chemistry basics and practice lab safety. Beware—the results you take home may be slimy! Program available in Exploration Station format.

Digging for Dinosaurs *Grades 1–4Uncover fossils on a mock paleontological dinosaur dig. Discuss Cincinnati’s world-famous Ordovician fossils, learn how fossils are formed and unearth how to differentiate them from rock. Touchable fossils from dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, raptors and many more make this program a junior paleontologist’s dream! Program available in Exploration Station format.

Engineer It!Grades 1-4Using a story, step-by-step instructions and colorful construction kits, solve problems by building working machines. Put STEM skills to use while having fun with various engineering concepts. If time permits, design and showcase a problem-solving invention of your own.

Evolution of Diversity: A History of Earth's ChangesGrades 3-8Investigate how land masses moved and shifted through time. Explore a timeline of major species evolution and extinction events. Learn about local ancient creatures, the habitat in which they lived and their adaptations. Examine an Ordovician period diorama and fossil specimens from museum collections. Program can accomodate adult audiences. Call for details. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Exploring Nano ScienceGrades 4–8From clothing to household products and computers, nanotechnology is all around us. But what is nano science? It’s science on the scale of the nanometer, which is just one billionth of a meter! Even though we can’t see these tiny structures, we will perform up to six experiments to explore the unique behavior of atoms and molecules on the nano scale. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Fantastic FloraGrades 1-3Animals aren't the only ones with amazing adaptations; plants are masters of survival as well! Tour the plant life cycle with posters and hands-on activties, focusing on the unique way plants disperse their seeds, attract pollinators, manufactor food and thrive in difficult times. Topics covered include parts of a plant, photosyntesis, germination, pollination, fruits and vegetables and more. As a bonus, each student will leave with a planted seed of their own.

Fantastic PhysicsGrades 7-12Explore forces and motion by building rockets. Feel the effects of air pressure. See the hair-raising effects of high voltage electricity.

Forces of NatureGrades 1-4Investigate weather patterns and natural phenomena in a hands-on way. Model the power of earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes and lightening. Review the steps of the water cycle and understand the basics of seasonal weather. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Forensics: The Science of CrimeGrades 5-8Analyze human skull replicas to determine the gender and ethnicity of a fictional victim. Combine clues from the skull with crime scene evidence to determine the identity of a missing person and speculate as to the cause of death. Program can be expanded to include human evolution. Call for details. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Geology RocksGrades 3–7Transform into a geologist for the day! Learn all about rocks and minerals while viewing and handling impressive specimens from our collections. Examine and classify specimens to learn their true identity, then test your knowledge of everyday uses of minerals. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Incredible Insects Grades 1–5Get up close and personal with the creatures that make up Earth’s largest population. Learn the characteristics of insects, see the world through the eyes of a fly and learn amazing facts about insect defense, including camouflage and mimicry. See and touch live insects and mounted insect spciments from across the globe. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Interact with ChemistryGrades 7-12Create and observe an assortment of chemical reactions. Learn about limiting reactants and catalysts that speed up the fun. Caution: this program goes out with a bang!

Superheroes of STEMvilleGrades 7-12Calling all engineer heroes of the future! The citizens of STEMville need your engineering and math skills to solve a crime, divert a city-wide disaster or save the community from an unknown environmental hazard. Should you accept, be prepared to quickly engage your STEM skills to successfully create, test and solve for the challenge.

The Best of BiologyGrades 7-12Work with Cincinnati Museum Center collection items and apply concepts of adaptaton, taxonomy and genetics to the natural world.

The Reasons for the SeasonsGrades 1–5Using globes, rotate and revolve your way to learning about the seasons and understanding why spring and summer are warmer times of the year and fall and winter are colder. Create the sounds of spring and explore seasonal camouflage with mounted animal specimens from our collections. Win a wintry prize if you can identify animal visitors from their scat and tracks left behind. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Thinking Green?Grades 5–8We use energy every day, but where does it come from? Review energy types, explore personal energy usage and compare renewable and non-renewable sources of electricity. Use renewable energy kits to experiment with wind turbines and solar panels. Recommended program length is 75 minutes. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Tour the Solar SystemGrades 3–6Soar through the solar system with recent slide images from Mercury, Neptune and beyond. Touch real meteorites and rocks of the type found on our Moon. Visualize the distance between planets and observe the crushing effects of air pressure!

Your Heart, Your Blood, Your HealthGrades 2–6Learn how the heart is packaged, the way it works, the way it sounds, to which system it belongs, and what it pumps. Get a closer look at capillaries, run a little race, test your food group knowledge and identify some giant microbes. Program available in Exploration Station format.

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Send us your photos!

If you send us a high-resolution photo of a Museum Center Learning Lab or Programs-on-Wheels program that was presented in your classroom, and we decide to use your photo for publication, we'll give you one FREE Learning Lab or Programs-on-Wheels program! Email your photos, your name, name of your school, program title, and program date to:

Please note: To be considered for publication, all photos must be sent with photo release form for all non-Museum Center individuals in the photo. If the photo subject is a minor, a parent or legal guardian must sign the release. If your school has photo releases for each student on file, you do not need to submit a photo release form, just make a note that the school has permission on file.